12 Foundational Yoga Poses Every Beginner Should Learn

You don't need flexibility to start yoga. You need a mat, enough floor space to lie down, and a willingness to move slowly. These 12 basic yoga poses for beginners form the backbone of most beginner classes, and once you know them, almost every sequence you encounter will feel familiar.

Work through them at your own pace. If anything causes sharp or pinching pain, ease out of it immediately. If you're pregnant, recovering from an injury, or managing a health condition, check with your doctor before starting.

How to Use This Guide

Read through each pose before you try it. Notice the cues about where you should feel the stretch and what the common mistakes are. For your first few sessions, stay in each shape for five slow breaths rather than trying to hold a perfect form. A wobbly, breathing version of a pose is worth far more than a rigid, breath-held one.

A quick note on equipment: a non-slip mat helps, but you can also practice on carpet or a folded blanket. Blocks and a strap are useful but never required.

Standing Poses

These build strength and balance from the ground up. Most beginner flows start here.

Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

Mountain Pose looks like standing still, but there's a lot happening. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, toes pointing forward. Press all four corners of each foot into the floor. Lift your kneecaps slightly by engaging your thighs. Let your arms hang, palms facing forward. Stack your ears over your shoulders, shoulders over hips.

You should feel a sense of length through the whole spine, not a military rigidity. This is the foundation for every other standing pose. For a closer look at alignment details, see our full guide on how to do Mountain Pose correctly.

Common mistake: Locking the knees or letting the lower back arch sharply. Keep a micro-bend in the knees and tuck the tailbone very slightly.

Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I)

From standing, step your left foot back about three to four feet. Turn the left foot out to roughly 45 degrees. Bend the right knee so it stacks over the ankle (not past the toes). Square your hips toward the front of the mat as much as your body allows, for most beginners, a partial square is fine. Raise both arms overhead, palms facing each other.

Stay for five breaths. You'll feel a stretch through the back hip flexor and strength building in the front thigh.

Common mistake: Letting the front knee collapse inward. Press it gently outward toward the little-toe side of the foot.

Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II)

From Warrior I, open your hips and arms out to the sides so your body faces the long edge of the mat. Your front knee stays bent over the ankle, back leg straight. Arms reach parallel to the floor, front hand over the front foot, back hand over the back foot. Gaze over the front fingertips.

This pose builds hip strength and endurance. You'll probably feel your front thigh burning within a few breaths, that's normal.

Tree Pose (Vrksasana)

Stand on your right foot. Place your left foot on your right ankle, calf, or inner thigh, anywhere but the knee joint. Find a fixed point on the wall to stare at. Once steady, bring your palms together at the chest or float the arms overhead.

Balance poses fluctuate day to day. If you wobble, plant the raised foot back down and try again. A wall nearby is a perfectly good prop.

Floor Poses

Moving to the ground shifts the weight out of the legs and gives the spine a chance to decompress.

Cat-Cow (Marjaryasana-Bitilasana)

This is actually two poses that flow together. Come onto hands and knees. Wrists under shoulders, knees under hips. On an inhale, drop the belly toward the floor, lift the chest and tailbone (Cow). On an exhale, round the whole spine toward the ceiling, tuck the chin and tailbone (Cat). Move slowly, letting the breath drive the movement.

Five to ten rounds of Cat-Cow is one of the best warm-ups for the spine there is, especially first thing in the morning.

Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

From hands and knees, tuck the toes and press the hips up and back. Your body forms an inverted V shape. Bend the knees generously, most beginners need a lot of bend to keep the spine long. Press firmly through the palms, especially the index finger and thumb. Let the head hang freely between the upper arms.

This pose strengthens the arms, stretches the hamstrings and calves, and gives the spine traction. It's one of the most common poses in yoga, so time spent learning it pays off quickly. Our full breakdown of how to do Downward Facing Dog covers the hand placement and shoulder alignment in more detail.

Common mistake: Trying to straighten the legs at the expense of a rounded back. Keep the knees bent. A long spine matters more than straight legs.

Child's Pose (Balasana)

Kneel with your big toes touching, knees as wide or narrow as feels comfortable. Sink the hips back toward the heels and walk the hands forward until the forehead rests on the mat. Arms can stretch forward or rest alongside the body.

Child's Pose is a resting shape. You can return to it any time during a practice, mid-sequence, between harder poses, or whenever you need a breath. Read more about using Child's Pose for rest and reset.

Seated Forward Fold (Paschimottanasana)

Sit on the floor with both legs extended in front of you. Flex the feet. On an inhale, sit tall. On an exhale, hinge forward from the hips (not the waist) and reach toward your feet. Grab your shins, ankles, or a strap looped around the feet, wherever you can reach without rounding the upper back severely.

Most beginners have tight hamstrings and will not reach the feet for weeks or months. That's fine. The work is in the forward tilt of the pelvis, not the distance your hands travel.

Supine Twist (Supta Matsyendrasana)

Lie on your back with both knees bent, feet flat. Draw the right knee to the chest, then let it fall across the body to the left. Extend the right arm out to the right. Look right or straight up.

Stay for eight to ten slow breaths, then switch sides. You should feel a wringing sensation through the mid and lower back. Never force the shoulder down, let gravity do the work.

Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)

Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat and hip-width apart. Press the feet into the floor and lift the hips toward the ceiling. You can clasp the hands under the back and press the arms down to open the chest, or just keep them flat by your sides.

Bridge builds glute and hamstring strength and counteracts the forward-folding most of us do all day at a desk.

Common mistake: Feet splaying outward or knees falling wide. Keep the feet parallel and the knees tracking over the second toe.

Legs Up the Wall (Viparita Karani)

Scoot close to a wall and swing the legs up so they rest vertically against it. Your back and arms lie flat. This is a restorative shape. Stay five minutes if you like, it calms the nervous system and reduces swelling in the feet and ankles after a long day.

No flexibility required. This is arguably the easiest pose in yoga and one of the most restorative.

Corpse Pose (Savasana)

Lie flat on your back, arms slightly away from the body, palms up, feet falling open. Close your eyes. Do nothing.

Savasana ends every yoga practice because it gives the body time to absorb what it just did. Most beginners find it harder than it looks, the mind wanders immediately. That's normal. When you notice the mind wandering, simply notice it and come back to the sensation of breathing. Even three minutes of Savasana is worth taking.

A Simple Starter Sequence

Here's how to string these 12 poses into a 20-minute practice:

Step	Pose	Duration
1	Mountain Pose	1 min
2	Cat-Cow	2 min
3	Downward Facing Dog	5 breaths
4	Warrior I (right side)	5 breaths
5	Warrior II (right side)	5 breaths
6	Repeat Warriors (left side)	5 breaths each
7	Tree Pose (both sides)	5 breaths each
8	Child's Pose	1 min
9	Seated Forward Fold	1 min
10	Supine Twist	1 min per side
11	Bridge Pose	5 breaths x2
12	Legs Up the Wall	3 min
13	Savasana	3 min

Move through at whatever pace feels right. Skip poses that don't suit you today and add extra time in the ones that feel good.

FAQ

Do I need to be flexible to do these poses?

No. Every pose here can be modified for tight muscles. Bend your knees in forward folds, use blocks under the hands in Downward Dog, and use a strap if you can't reach your feet. Flexibility comes with time; you don't need it to begin.

How many days a week should a beginner practice?

Two to three times a week is a solid starting point. That's enough to build familiarity with the poses without overwhelming your body. Even 15 minutes on an off day (Cat-Cow, a few twists, Savasana) helps more than you'd expect.

Why does my wrist hurt in poses like Downward Dog?

Wrist discomfort is common for beginners who haven't built the supporting hand and forearm strength yet. Press firmly through the fingertips rather than dumping weight into the heel of the hand. You can also lower to your forearms (Dolphin Pose) as a substitute until the wrists get stronger.

Is it normal to feel sore after yoga?

Mild soreness in the thighs, hips, or upper back after the first few sessions is normal, you're using muscles in new ways. Sharp joint pain during a pose is not normal and means you should ease out of it. There's a clear difference between the productive ache of a worked muscle and a pain that signals something is wrong.

Can I do these poses every day?

Yes, with some variation in intensity. A slow, restorative session (Child's Pose, Legs Up the Wall, Savasana) can be done daily without much recovery cost. Save the more demanding sequences, Warriors, Bridge repeats, for days when you feel rested.